Art and the pandemic
"The purpose of art is to wash the dust of everyday life from our souls," said Pablo Picasso.
But currently the arts have been hit hard due to the Covid-19 pandemic and declared by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as a sector in crisis.
According to UNESCO, measures typical of the fight against the coronavirus that have been implemented worldwide - such as the closures of museums, theaters and libraries - have had catastrophic effects on the production of art and on the lives of artists.
“In Costa Rica, the Ministry of Culture and Youth carried out an online survey at the end of March to gather information on the effects of the pandemic on the cultural sector and the results are alarming,” UNESCO gives as an example, adding:
“The Ministry estimates that 12.3% of the workers surveyed live in a state of poverty or extreme poverty, which puts them in a special situation of vulnerability to the effects of the pandemic. According to this study, the main economic concerns of working people in the cultural and artistic sector are the following: loss of income derived from cancellations (22%), inability to comply with obligations with public or state services (16%), loss of employment (12%) and the impossibility of complying with debt and credit payments (9%) ”.
In Ecuador the situation is no different. A large percentage of artists have had to work in another field in order to survive. That is why we interviewed the two UDANZA teachers, Carmen Vásquez and Angélica Galarza, about the current state of art in our city.
Vásquez tells us that artistic manifestations are collective expressions, almost massive, and isolation and quarantine have made this type of expression impossible.
"If there is no work, there is no remuneration, so the artist is terribly affected, both financially and emotionally," says the teacher.
For his colleague, the artist has always been in a precarious situation in the country due to the lack of support from the authorities.
"They do not realize that cultural activity adds endorphins, and in turn this makes this produce happiness in human beings," says Galarza.
Both agree that art helps us as a society to reflect and debate, to share ideas and opinions, and therefore, "we must rely on art as a weapon to defend a people from ignorance", in the words of Galarza .
With regard to cultural activities at the University, Vásquez makes an analysis of what happened in 2020 and says that it was difficult to suspend rehearsals and presentations on and off campus, which had excellent acceptance.
Regarding the future, Galarza assures that "the UDA has projects in mind, many activities to carry out and, above all, always with that good will and love of art."
“Both the teacher Carmen Vásquez and I reflect on our students all the work, and they deliver in a fantastic way,” he concludes.
UDA Correspondent
